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Reference Material For Disabled Cruise Travel


Host Walt
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One of our wonderful Members, Kathy (Splinter) took the time and effort to capture a lot of useful material from the old Cruise Critic Message Boards that would otherwise have been lost when the old boards are shut down.

 

As Splinter requested, please use these threads for reference. Please post any additional reference material to these threads (in the correct category) but, if you have any questions or suggestions that arise from these threads, please post them in a separate thread. Thanks.

 

Again many thanks and a big high five to Kathy for her initiative and for taking the time to undertake this project.

 

Good work!

 

The links below will take you to the post that contains Splinter's Resource listings:

 

Cruise Line Special Services Offices

 

Resources for Eastern Caribbean for Disabled Cruise Travel

 

Resources for Western Caribbean for Disabled Cruise Travel

 

Resources for Mexican Riviera for Disabled Cruise Travel

 

Resources for Alaska for Disabled Cruise Travel

 

Resources for South America for Disabled Cruise Travel

 

Resources for Hawaii for Disabled Cruise Travel

 

Resources for Europe for Disabled Cruise Travel PART ONE

 

Resources for Europe for Disabled Cruise Travel PART TWO

 

Resources for Europe for Disabled Cruise Travel PART THREE

 

Resources for Europe for Disabled Cruise Travel PART FOUR

Edited by Host Walt
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  • 1 month later...
Walt, several of the links you posted to the resource threads do not work. Can you please test them and correct? Thanks.

The links have been fixed.

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  • 1 month later...

Thanks for all your info on this ..my husband may need to have a wheel chair on the next cruise just for in ports as he has a hard time with long walking so you have all given great ideas..

I came across this link it may be of help to others;

 

http://www.geocities.com/Paris/1502/disabilitylinks.html

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A big THANK-YOU to Kathy for all the time and effort she put in to come up with the excellent list.

And thank-you Walt for allowing it to be posted on the Board.

 

 

Cruise-Critic # 1 Cruisers Web-Site:p

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I contacted www.themobilityshop.com and rented a small folding GO-GO SCOOTER for the cruise. Midwest airlines will stow the scooter for free :) and it does not count as lugage. Rented a van In California (cheaper then cruise line transfer with a group) and booked a room near the elevator for her. Now she can have her independence around the ship with no problem. I will tell you the seat in the GO-GO is NO way as comfortable as the Merits!!! They also gave me a discount on the rental since we got the Merits scooter from them/MEDICARE. no charge

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We don't have a category for central America, so will add this here. I have not used them, but have had them recommended from other cruisers:

 

Go With Wheelchairs (Costa Rica accessible tours)

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Eshzk/4tours.htm

 

 

By the way, I noticed 'way back in March of 2005 you wrote about a website for Costa Rica wheelchair tours. It is now www.gowithwheelchairs.com . We used Erik in 2003 out of Limon and we have booked him for a tour out of Puntarenas, CR in Dec. 2006.

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My wife (AB) and I (power WC) recently took a wonderful tour of Bermuda provided by Keith Simmons. Keith has a lowered floor 2008 Chevy Uplander with a ramp. His associate, Genetta, drives and provides descriptions of the sites. She is very capable and always made sure I was positioned comfortably and securely. She had a patience and gentleness in securing all of the tie-downs, belts, etc. which she had to do each of the many times we got in and out of the vehicle. We arrived on the NCL Dawn (5/11/08 sailing) which docked at King's Wharf. We took Keith's 5-hour tour which covers most of the sites in the Western and Central areas of the island. The Bermuda ferries are very accessible and we used them to go to St. George's and several times to Hamilton. Keith's tours are described on his website www.access.bm and it seemed easiest to contact him by email keithsimmons@logic.bm . I also spoke with him once by phone at 441-295-9106. I reserved the tour about 2 months ahead. Keith told me 3 weeks notice is usually enough but less is hit or miss. His vehicle can handle up to 3 tourists with 2 in wheelchairs or 4 tourists with one chair.

-- Bob

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By the way, I noticed 'way back in March of 2005 you wrote about a website for Costa Rica wheelchair tours. It is now www.gowithwheelchairs.com . We used Erik in 2003 out of Limon and we have booked him for a tour out of Puntarenas, CR in Dec. 2006.

 

We had a fantastic tour with Erik from gowithwheelchairs in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. I used a scooter and everythihg worked out fine. We enjoyed the aerial tram which was a distance away :) -- they tip it so you can get on it. Erik is very knowledgeable and kind. Highly recommended. He met us right outside of pier and we then proceeded to the van - about 1/8 mile. He brought snacks. Every need was taken care of. A wonderful day. April 2008. Vicki & Bob

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I've been researching a wheelchair accessible cabin for a family member and just ran across a very handy resource on the ***** website under "special needs." After you click on the name of a specific ship on that page, there is a link "to view a detailed list of accessible cabins and measurements" and then a chart of the various accessibility features of the ship.

 

The detailed list of accessible cabins gives you the stateroom numbers and the door widths. It beats squinting at the deck plans to figure out where the accessible cabins are!

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Under the Top Ships article, Walt, Celebrity's Millenium, Infinity and Summit are listed as great for disabled cruisers. Just a note here: of the four M-Class ships only the 4th, the Constellation, has any accessible by lift pools and hot tubs. For those who pack their swimsuits expecting pools they should know which ones they won't waste their suitcase room on. :-) Oh, the warm Solarium pool is one of the lift equipped pools.

 

Thanks for all the info Kathy! We're doing the repo of the Mercury from San Diego to Baltimore in October 2009 and get an overnight in Puertarenas, CR. We plan on seeing at least one national park and a lot more than we normally can using your reference. Trying to get my Dad along for this so will be paying careful attention to access for both wheelers and those who have problems with long distances in hot weather. We'll report back afterwards.

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Spoke with Princess accessibility person today about HC cabins on the Ruby Princess. We only spoke of 2, but the information I have is the inside ( Aloha deck ) is 13X19 ft with open bath 6X7ft. The obstructed view ones on Emerald deck are 21x14 FT and open bath 6x7ft.

 

Dont know size of others like balcony. Be careful when discussing balcony cabins, they will tell you a sq footage that includes the balcony, could be misleading.

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I've been researching a wheelchair accessible cabin for a family member and just ran across a very handy resource on the ***** website under "special needs." After you click on the name of a specific ship on that page, there is a link "to view a detailed list of accessible cabins and measurements" and then a chart of the various accessibility features of the ship.

 

The detailed list of accessible cabins gives you the stateroom numbers and the door widths. It beats squinting at the deck plans to figure out where the accessible cabins are!

 

 

as of now, there is nolonger a room size given. Only door width, and info on bath and balcony ramping.

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I traveled on Royal Caribbean, on two different ships and had the handicapped cabin, in both cases. The first time, I used a wheelchair and the second time, a scooter. The doors were wide enough to get through and the cabins large enough to turn around in, but I am not sure, if you can't walk a little, that you can comfortably navigate through the furniture and out to the balcony. For me, there was no problem. I simply plugged in my scooter and used my crutches to get around in the room.

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Hi, I am able to walk some, but use a scooter for any distance at all. So, I really don't usually need a handicapped cabin.

 

I've cruised three times on Royal Caribbean, twice on Norwegian and once on Princess. On all of them the cabin doors were wide enough on a standard balcony cabin for my Go-Go Scooter to get into the cabin comfortably. All of them had excellent access to areas around the ship. I don't use the pool or the hot tubs, so I can't comment on their accessibility.

 

Norwegian standard balcony cabins are generally smaller than the other two lines I have cruised and the arrangement of furniture makes it impossible to turn the scooter around once inside the cabin. I'm very used to navigating with the scooter, so I would back into the room, but it made getting around in there very tight. The second time on a Norwegian ship (the Jewel) I did request a handicapped balcony cabin and it was much easier for us both to get around, including turning the scooter. I was able to park the scooter in the closet which provided easier access in the cabin itself.

 

On Royal Caribbean and Princess standard balcony cabins I had no trouble driving straight in and turning the scooter around. Also there was more room for my cabin mate to get around the scooter. At this point I would not request a HC cabin on either of those two lines.

 

I wish there was another catagory of cabin for "minimally" handicapped folks such as myself. It makes me uncomfortable to request a fully handicapped cabin when someone else may need it more than I do. For some of us just a little more space to turn around in and park the scooter or wheelchair would be sufficent.

 

I hope this is helpful and that it makes it easier for you to enjoy cruising as much as I do.

Iris

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